Hand Supinating Device and Training Method

ABSTRACT

A hand supinating device comprising a sheet of flexible material having a first broad surface on one side of the sheet of flexible material, and a second broad surface on the opposite side of the sheet of flexible material, and having a slit in the surface of the flexible material on the second broad side of the sheet of flexible material; at least one strap attached to the first broad surface of the sheet of flexible material, the at least one strap having a buckle attached at one end of the strap, and an area of hook-and-loop fabric disposed on the opposite end of the strap; a sheet of metal having three hooks formed in one end, the sheet of metal contained within the sheet of flexible material and attached to the sheet of flexible material, wherein the three hooks extend outside of the sheet of flexible material through the slit in the surface of the flexible material on the second broad side of the sheet of flexible material; and a sheet of hook-and-loop material attached to at least a part of the second broad side of the sheet of flexible material.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable.

REFERENCE TOA SEQUENCE LISTING

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to sports training equipment andmethods. More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus and atraining method adapted to assist a person to improve his or herbasketball shooting skills and accuracy. The apparatus is ahand-supinating device that tends to draw the three middle fingers of ahand backwards.

2. Description of Related Art

Some prior art patents have been directed toward basketball shootingtraining. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0178554 to Heflinteaches a glove that can be worn on a basketball player's hand while theplayer shoots the basketball toward the goal. The glove is designed toallow the player to properly support the basketball with the threemiddle fingers and align the three middle fingers with the forearm ofthe shooting hand while the player is shooting the basketball, andthereafter throughout the follow-through following release of thebasketball, while allowing the thumb and outer finger of the shootinghand to freely flex and spread out away from the three middle fingers.This is supposed to stabilize the basketball on the shooting hand priorto releasing the basketball during the shooting movement.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,712,153 to Adams teaches a glove for a hand thatdesigned to increase the flexibility and strength of the distalinterphalangeal joints of the index to little fingers. The disclosureshows in FIG. 1 a glove that comprises a wrist band that is connected toan intermediate body that partially covers the top of the hand, eightrigid bands—one disposed around the second phalanx of each fingerbetween the first and second knuckles (counting from the fingertip) andone disposed around the third phalanx of each finger between the secondand third knuckles of each of the four fingers from the index to thepinky finger, the two bands on each finger connected by an elastic banddisposed on the top of that finger, and each of the four bands that aredisposed on the third knuckle of the four fingers individually connectedto the intermediate body by an elastic band, each such elastic banddisposed on the top of the hand. Other embodiments of the invention areshown in FIGS. 2-9 of the Adams patent. The purpose of the Adamsinvention is to exercise the hand to better enable the athlete to graspa ball, bat or an opponent. The device is designed to improveindependent muscle control in the fingers with an emphasis on thedistal-interphalangeal joints.

3. Definitions

The word “finger” normally includes the thumb as well as the other fourfingers of a normal human hand. However, in this application, the word“finger is used only to indicate the four fingers from the index fingerto the pinky finger, and it excludes the thumb. In places where we meanto refer to the thumb, we will specifically use the word “thumb” and not“finger”. Further, to define the terminology we will use in thisapplication, each of the four fingers of a normal human hand has threephalanges. Starting at the fingertip of each finger, the first phalanxof a finger is connected to the second phalanx of that finger at thefirst knuckle of that finger. The second phalanx of each finger isconnected to the third phalanx at the second knuckle. The third phalanxis connected to the bones of the hand at the third knuckle.

In this patent application, the hand of a person is in the supineposition with respect to the person's forearm when the hand is rotatedback toward the top of the forearm at or near the hand's maximum normalextent of rotation in this direction. This is true regardless of theactual position of the hand or forearm with respect to the ground orfloor on which the person stands. The hand of a person supinates or issupinated when it rotates back toward the supine position. An example ofa supinated hand is shown in FIG. 5 of this patent application. In thispatent application, the hand of a person is in the prone position withrespect to the person's forearm when the hand is rotated forward towardthe bottom of the forearm at or near the hand's maximum extent ofrotation in this direction. This is true regardless of the actualposition of the hand or forearm with respect to the ground or floor onwhich the person stands. The hand of a person pronates or is pronatedwhen it rotates forward toward the prone position. An example of apronated hand is shown in FIG. 6 of this application.

In this patent application, rotating the hand backward with respect tothe forearm means that the hand is rotated at the wrist in a directionthat supinates the hand. In this patent application, rotating the handforward with respect to the forearm means that the hand is rotated atthe wrist in a direction that pronates the hand.

The words “shoot”, “shooting, and “shot” when used to describe an act ofthrowing a basketball in a basketball game or practice are commonlyunderstood by persons who are familiar with the game of basketball. Weuse those words in that manner in this patent application.

Basketball training includes teaching players how to hold the basketballon or about their hand during the process of shooting the basketballtoward the goal with that hand. The training sometimes utilizes devicesworn or disposed on the finger(s), hand, wrist, and/or forearm of theshooting hand to support, or limit, or otherwise control the movement ofthese extremities when the player shoots the basketball with that hand.The concept is that by using the device during training, the playerbuilds muscle memory that will be retained when the player is competingin a game and is not using the device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

We have discovered that basketball players need to be trained in how tohold their hands and fingers while shooting the basketball toward thegoal or in otherwise throwing the basketball. It is advantageous to abasketball player to learn to supinate their hand when holding thebasketball in preparation to shooting the basketball toward the goal.With some basketball players, particularly younger persons, this is nota natural movement or instinct. However, players can be trained to dothis. We have devised a novel device to teach people how to hold theirhand and to aid them in doing it during basketball play and training. Apreferred embodiment of my novel device will exert a continual backwardforce on at least one of the phalanges of each of the three longestfingers of the normal human hand (in other words, all of the fingers butthe pinkie finger). This force will cause the hand and all the fingersto substantially supinate, which is the ideal position of the hand andfingers from which to launch a basketball shot in cooperation with thearm.

As a result of my discovery, we have created a hand-supinating devicefor a forearm and its attached hand of a person, comprising a forearmbrace means for providing one or more anchor points steadily disposed ata particular place along the forearm of a person and a supinating meansfor applying a backward force to the hand attached to the forearm suchthat the hand is urged toward a supinated position even when the personurges the hand toward a pronated position.

We have also created a method of training a basketball player whichcomprises fitting one or both of their forearms and hands with ahand-supinating device and then having the player play the game ofbasketball or practice the game while wearing the hand-supinatingdevice, so that their hands tend to be drawn back during play orpractice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a top perspective view of the preferred embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the preferred embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 3 shows an end view of preferred embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4 shows a bottom perspective view of the preferred embodiment ofthis invention.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the preferred embodiment in actualuse on a supinated hand.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the preferred embodiment in actualuse on a pronated hand.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The hand supinating device 10 of this invention is shown generally inFIGS. 1, 2, and 3. The device 10 comprises a base element 15 which canbe a rectangular piece of leather. Three hooks 20, 22, and 24 aresecured to the base element 15. While there are several ways of securingthe hooks 20, 22, and 24 to the base element, one way to do so is toform a single thin metal plate (not shown) that has the three hooks 20,22, and 24 formed at one edge of the metal plate. The leather baseelement 15 can be sliced open on one face with a thin slit 25 as shownin FIG. 1. The thin metal plate comprising the three hooks can be slidinto the slit in the leather base element 15 such that the metal plateis substantially disposed within the leather base element 15 with onlythe three hooks remaining exteriorly of the base element 15. The slitcan be sealed or otherwise secured such that the metal plate will not bepulled out of the leather base element 15 by normal forces pulling onthe hooks.

The particular base element 15 that we disclose in this preferredembodiment is only one of many different base elements that persons ofordinary skill in this art could create once they have read andunderstood this disclosure. My invention is not limited to thisparticular base element 15 but encompasses all base elements which actas does my base element 15 and which could be designed and built by aperson of ordinary skill in this art once that person has read andunderstood this disclosure.

Three separate nylon straps are secured to the leather base element 15on the broad side opposite the hooks as shown in FIG. 1. The strapsshould be arranged generally parallel to one another with a first strap30 at along one end of the base element 15, the third strap 34 along anopposite end of the base element, and the second strap 32 disposedintermediate the first 30 and third 34 straps. The three straps 30, 32,and 34 are sized and arranged such that they will wrap around and besecured to the forearm of a person who will use the hand supinatingdevice 10. The three straps 30, 32, and 34 can be secured to the leatherbase element 15 by adhering them together with a suitable adhesivedisposed between each strap and the base element 15.

Each of the three straps 30, 32, and 34 has a buckle 40, 42, and 44,respectively, at one end of the strap, and a hook-and-loop connector 45,47, and 49, respectively, at the opposite end of each strap. These threebuckles 40, 42, and 44, and three hook-and-loop connectors 45, 47, and49 are used to secure the hand supinating device around the forearm of aperson using the device such that the device is securely attached to theperson's forearm and will not slide significantly up and down theforearm during use.

The hand supinating device 10 comprises three elastic bands 50, 52, and54. Each elastic band 50, 52, and 54 comprises a first loop 55, 57, and59, respectively, at a first end. Each of the first loops 55, 57, and 59can be removably placed over one of the hooks 20, 22, and 24respectively. Each of the three elastic bands 50, 52, and 54 has asecond loop 60, 62, and 64, respectively, attached to a second end ofeach elastic band. Each of the second loops 60, 62, and 64 will be sizedsuch that the person using the hand supinating device 10 can removablyslip one finger into each of the second loops.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the hand supinating device 10. FIG. 3 showsan end view. In both FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the elastic bands 50, 52, and 54are not shown. The device 10 also comprises a foam pad 70 which can beseen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The foam pad 70 is disposed on the beneath thethree straps 30, 32, and 34, and the foam pad 70 is attached to thethree straps with an adhesive. The purpose of the foam pad is to providesome cushioning between the straps 30, 32, and 34 and the upper side ofthe forearm of the person wearing the hand supinating device 10. Thedevice 10 is meant to be worn fairly tightly on the forearm, and thefoam pad 70 will minimize chafing of the upper side of the forearm bythe device 10. The foam padding 70 can be sized in any manner that iscomfortable to the user, but it should not be so large that itinterferes with the tight fit of the device 10 around the forearm of theuser. Specifically, the device 10 should not move significantly up anddown the forearm of the user.

FIG. 4 shows the hand supinating device 10 upside down from itsorientation in FIG. 1. In this figure, there is shown an optional secondfoam pad 75 that can be removably placed upon foam pad 70 to provideadditional padding if it is needed. Foam pad 75 would not be attached tothe device 10 in any way, but would simply be placed between the pad 70and the person's forearm at the time the device is placed upon theforearm before the straps are wrapped around the forearm.

In use, a person can use the hand supinating device 10 by first choosingon which arm the device will be placed. The device 10 is laid upon thetop of the forearm of the person. Optionally, the foam pad 75 can firstbe placed between the pad 70 and the forearm. Then the person (orsomeone helping the person) can thread each end of the each strap 30,32, and 34 respectively through the eye of each buckle 40, 42, and 44,respectively. Each strap is then pulled tight and the hook-and-loopconnector is placed on the strap to secure the strap tight around theforearm. When each strap has been suitably secured around the forearm,the person (or someone helping the person) can place one of the person'sfingers through a second loop of one of the three elastic bands. This isdone for each of the three fingers (not including the pinkie finger orthe thumb) which will be supinated by the device 10. The opposite end ofeach elastic band can then be individually grasped and the first loop ofeach elastic band placed on the appropriate hook 20, 22, and 24. Whenproperly mounted, as seen in FIG. 5, the person's right hand forefinger84 will be in second loop 64 of elastic band 54 having its first loop 59placed on hook 24. The person's middle finger 82 will be in second loop62 of elastic band 52 having its first loop 57 placed on hook 22. Theperson's fourth finger 80 will be in second loop 60 of elastic band 50having its first loop 55 placed on hook 20. Of course, these steps canbe done in any order.

FIG. 5 shows the device 10 mounted on the right forearm of a person, butthe device can be mounted on the left forearm in the same manner exceptthat the forefinger will be placed in second loop 60, the middle fingerin second loop 62, and the fourth finger in second loop 64. The threeelastic bands should be aligned so that they are generally parallel anddo not cross one another. Each of the three fingers has its respectiveloop placed around the bottom of the third phalanx at the inside of thethird knuckle where the third phalanx connects to the bones of the hand.

As is apparent from FIG. 5, the hand supinating device 10 when properlymounted on the forearm and fingers will effectively supinate the threemiddle fingers of the hand. The tension exerted by the three elasticbands 50, 52, and 54 should be such that the hand and the three middlefingers of the hand are generally supinated when the person does not tryto pronate the hand and fingers. But the person should be able to usethe muscles of the forearm and hand to pronate the hand and fingers ofthat arm with only moderate effort. With the device in place, the personcan play basketball and can shoot the basketball toward the goal orotherwise throw the basketball during game play. The supination devicewill tend to draw the hand and fingers back into the desired positionfrom which a basketball shot should start, and will provide resistanceto the movement of the hand and fingers during a shot, thereby providingexercise to strengthen the muscles of the forearm, hand, and fingers.When the shot is completed, the device 10 will tend to supinate the handand fingers again.

FIG. 6 shows the hand supinating device 10 on the forearm and hand of aperson at a point when the person has just released a basketball shottoward the goal. The person will be using the muscles of the arm, hand,and fingers to throw or shoot the basketball and will have placed theirhand in the position shown. In such position, the three elastic bands50, 52, and 54 will be stretched out by the position of the hand andfingers, and the three elastic bands will each be exerting a significanttension force on the bottom of the three middle fingers to draw themback to the position shown in FIG. 5.

To make the hand supinating device shown in FIGS. 1-6, one may obtainand lay flat a piece of leather of an appropriate size. We have used aleather piece sized 6.5 inches by 3 inches. A small slit, about 1.5inches long, should be made into one side of the leather piece about oneinch from a long edge thereof. A soft aluminum sheet metal plate, sizedapproximately 2 inches by 0.5 inches, can be made and three metal hooksriveted along one long edge of the metal plate such that the hooks arepointed in the same direction as shown in FIG. 1. The hooks are theninserted through the slit in the leather piece and the aluminum sheetmetal plate is attached to the leather piece using super glue or hotglue or any other suitable means of attachment. Three pieces of nylonbelting are cut to about 13.5 inches each. The three nylon belts eachhave one adjuster buckle attached by folding about one inch of belt overthe bottom of the bottom of the buckle and secure the folded part to thebelt with glue or sewn threading. Each of the three belt and bucklecombinations is placed onto the leather piece as shown in FIGS. 1-4 andeach belt is secured to the leather piece with glue. A thin sheet offoam padding is cut to size and placed on the back of the leather pieceso that the foam padding covers the aluminum plate and the portion ofthe leather sheet across which extend the three belts. The foam paddingis secured in place by glue. Three small pieces of hook-and-loop (forexample, Velcro®) material is glued to the ends of the three beltsopposite the buckles. These three pieces will preferably be the hookmaterial, rather than the loop material of the hook-and-loop attachmentdevice. Then, a sheet of the loop material is cut to size and glued tothe top of the leather piece so that it covers the top of the leatherpiece except where the three hooks are present. The result will be thebase element 15 shown in FIGS. 1-6.

Three pieces of button-hole elastic should be cut out and foldedtogether to each form a circular shape. Each button-hole elastic pieceshould be sewn across at an appropriate place in the middle to provide asuitably-sized opening for a finger to be inserted through the resultingloop. One suitably-sized band should be secured at one end to each ofthe three button-hole elastic piece such that the result is that shownin FIG. 5.

To use the hand-supinating device 10, a person can wrap the leather baseelements 15 around an appropriate part of the person's forearm, andsecure it to the forearm by placing the free end of each strap throughthe opposing buckle of that strap and pulling the strap tight around theforearm, then securing the free end of the strap to the loop material onthe back of the hand-supinating device 10. This is done for all threestraps. The person places their middle three fingers of the appropriatehand through the loops 60, 62, and 64. Then each elastic band is hookedonto the respective hook on the base element 15. The person can thenproceed to play basketball or another sport and the hand-supinatingdevice 10 will provide the training and exercise it is meant to provide.

Optionally, a person may place an additional layer of padding betweenthe base element 15 and the forearm if it provides desired comfort anddoes not allow the base element 15 to move significantly on the forearm.

It is noted that this preferred embodiment places the base element onthe forearm at a location somewhat near the wrist. It may be possible toplace the base element further along the forearm toward the elbow if theelastic bands were made longer. It could also be possible to place thebase element on the upper arm. However, this is likely to be lessdesirable due to the length of the elastic bands necessary for thisplacement, and the fact that they would interfere with the use of thearm in play, tending to become tangled with other players' hands andarms.

It may also be desirable to place a piece of material over the threehooks so that the hooks do not scratch or otherwise injure the user oranother player during play.

A method of training basketball players comprises placing ahand-supinating device on at least one of the forearms and hands of theplayer, and having the player play basketball or practice shooting orthrowing a ball. More particularly, a method of training basketballplayers comprises attaching a base element to a first forearm of theplayer, placing each of plural fingers of the hand connected to thefirst forearm of the player into a loop, and connecting each loopindividually to the base element with an elastic band that exertstension between the finger and the base element, and then having theplayer exercise, throw a ball, or play a sport.

The embodiments described and illustrated in this disclosure can bemodified and still be within the scope of this invention. For example,any device that tends to supinate the hand during game play would comewithin the scope of this invention. The invention is limited only by thefollowing claims.

We claim:
 1. A bracing sleeve adapted to be fitted snugly on a person'sforearm and having at least one anchor means for attaching a supinatingmeans for pulling the hand attached to the forearm toward a supinatedposition.
 2. The bracing sleeve of claim 1 further comprising at leastone supinating means for pulling the hand attached to the forearm towarda supinated position, the at least one supinating means attached to thebracing sleeve at the at least one anchor means.
 3. A hand supinatingdevice for a person's forearm and its attached hand, comprising aforearm brace means for providing at least one anchor point at apredetermined location on the forearm, and a supinating means forforcing the hand attached to the forearm toward a supinated positionrelative to the forearm, the supinating means attached to the at leastone anchor point on the forearm brace and to at least one part of thehand attached to the forearm.
 4. The hand supinating device of claim 3wherein the forearm brace comprises a single anchor point disposed onthe brace means, and the supinating means is attached between the singleanchor point and one of the fingers of the hand attached to the forearm.5. The hand supinating device of claim 3 wherein the forearm bracecomprises two anchor points disposed on the brace means, and thesupinating means comprises two separate supinating means, the firstseparate supinating means attached between a first anchor point and afirst finger of the hand attached to the forearm and the second separatesupinating means attached between a second anchor point and a secondfinger of the hand attached to the forearm.
 6. The hand supinatingdevice of claim 3 wherein the forearm brace means comprises at leastthree anchor points disposed on the brace means.
 7. The hand supinatingdevice of claim 6 wherein the supinating means has two ends, and whereinthe first end of the supinating means is attached to the three anchorpoints.
 8. The hand supinating device of claim 7 wherein the second endof the supinating means is removably attached to at least three fingersof the hand attached to the forearm.
 9. The hand supinating device ofclaim 3 wherein the forearm brace means comprises at least three anchorpoints disposed on the outer surface of the brace means and wherein thesupinating means comprises at least three separate supinating means forforcing the hand attached to the forearm toward a supinated positionrelative to the forearm, each separate supinating means comprising afirst end removably attached to one of the three anchor points and asecond end removably attached to a finger of the hand attached to theforearm.
 10. The hand supinating device of claim 9 wherein the firstsupinating means is attached between a first anchor point and the indexfinger of the hand attached to the forearm, the second supinating meansis attached between a second anchor point and the middle finger of thehand attached to the forearm, and the third supinating means is attachedbetween a third anchor point and the ring finger of the hand attached tothe forearm.
 11. A hand supinating device for a person's forearm and itsattached hand, comprising a forearm brace means for providing at leastone anchor point at a predetermined location on the forearm capable ofattaching to a supinating means for urging a hand toward a supinatedposition relative to the forearm attached to the hand.
 12. The handsupinating device of claim 11 further comprising at least one supinatingmeans for urging a hand toward a supinated position relative to theforearm attached to the hand.
 13. A hand supinating devicecomprising: 1) A removable bracing sleeve adapted to be fitted snugly ona person's forearm and having at least one anchor means disposed on thebracing sleeve; and 2) at least one supinating means for pulling thehand attached to the forearm toward a supinated position, the supinatingmeans having two ends, the first end attached to the at least one anchormeans disposed on the bracing sleeve and the second end attached to thehand to be supinated.
 14. The hand supinating device of claim 13 whereinthe bracing sleeve has at least three anchor means disposed on thebracing sleeve; the at least one supinating means comprises threeseparate supinating means each having two ends with the first end ofeach separate supinating means being attached to a different one of thethree anchor means and the second end of each separate supinating meansbeing attached to a different finger of the hand that is attached to theforearm on which the bracing sleeve is disposed.
 15. A hand supinatingdevice comprising: 1) a sheet of flexible material having a first broadsurface on one side of the sheet of flexible material, and a secondbroad surface on the opposite side of the sheet of flexible material,and having a slit in the surface of the flexible material on the secondbroad side of the sheet of flexible material; 2) at least one strapattached to the first broad surface of the sheet of flexible material,the at least one strap having a buckle attached at one end of the strap,and an area of hook-and-loop fabric disposed on the opposite end of thestrap; 3) a sheet of metal having three hooks formed in one end, thesheet of metal contained within the sheet of flexible material andattached to the sheet of flexible material, wherein the three hooksextend outside of the sheet of flexible material through the slit in thesurface of the flexible material on the second broad side of the sheetof flexible material; and 4) a sheet of hook-and-loop material attachedto at least a part of the second broad side of the sheet of flexiblematerial.
 16. The hand supinating device of claim 15 further comprising:4) three elastic bands, each band attached to a finger loop at one endof the band, and each band having an attachment loop at the other end ofthe band, wherein each of the three elastic bands is capable of having ahuman finger removably inserted into the finger loop and the attachmentloop is capable of being removably hooked onto one of the three hooks ofthe sheet of metal.
 17. The device of claim 15 wherein the at least onestrap comprises three straps, each strap having a buckle attached at oneend of the strap and an area of hook-and-loop fabric disposed on theopposite end of each strap.
 18. The device of claim 15 furthercomprising a first sheet of padding attached to the at least one strapand the first broad side of the sheet of flexible material.
 19. Thedevice of claim 18 further comprising a second sheet of padding attachedto first sheet of padding on a side of the first sheet of paddingopposite to the side attached to the sheet of flexible material.
 20. Thetraining method comprising the steps of: 1) placing a brace on a firstforearm of a person; 2) supinating the hand of the first forearm of theperson by removably attaching a first end of an elastic band to the atleast one finger and removably attaching a second end of the elasticband to the brace; and 3) subsequently throwing or shooting a ball withthe hand of the first forearm.